Wire and Cable Industry in India

India’s wire and cable industry is transitioning from a marketplace largely occupied by unorganised regional players to an organised sector with large players PAN-India servicing all categories. The key players in the market include Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd., Finolex Cables Ltd., KEI Industries Ltd., Havells India Ltd., Panasonic Corp., Apar Industries Ltd., RR Kabel Ltd., and Polycab India Ltd.

This burgeoning market reached an approximate value of Rs. 1,083.71 billion in size in 2023 and is only going to get bigger and better.

The onset of rapid urbanisation and smart cities has forced the industry to strategise on the delivery of extra-high-voltage cables (EHV) and low-voltage insulated wires and cables. EHV cables are deployed underground and are used for power transmission and distribution. On the other hand, low-voltage overhead lines are deployed to connect small residential or commercial customers with the utility. The same segment for overhead cables holds a sizable market revenue share owing to the low installation costs and price.

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India is witnessing unprecedented growth in the telecom sector, with the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association) projecting India as the world’s second-largest market for smartphones by 2025. This would result in a whopping 1 billion active devices across the country, boasting 920 million unique mobile subscribers and 88 million 5G connections. The wire and cable market players are poised to be key enablers and success drivers of this expansion by following the grounding principles of availability, accessibility, automation, affordability, and agility.

The government of India has been promoting this growth by launching numerous initiatives over the past few years. The largest of them all was the ‘Make in India’ program, introduced with the sole objective of promoting domestic manufacture, offering countless schemes to incentivise manufacturers. The notable UDAY (Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) scheme was introduced to pull out and revive power distribution market players from a financial mess.

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Industry 4.0 is an advanced revolution in which multiple emerging technologies unite to ideate and deliver digital solutions. This transformation's characteristics are 100% digitisation and automation of all processes and extensive use of IT and electronics across manufacturing and services.

The technological advancements in manufacturing are related to Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the Internet of Things (IoT), Enterprise Architecture (EA), Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), and Enterprise Integration (EI).

In short, Industry 4.0 is the information-intensive manufacturing revolution that is blossoming in the playground of IoT-enabled assets, processes, people, services, systems, and big data. This blended environment, weaved with new-age elements, is an eye-opener to the digital industry, which is fostering ecosystems of innovation.

Armed with smart technology, key players have boldly started stepping up their game. Today, manufacturing processes are almost fully integrated digitally and 100% automated. Smart algorithms and deep learning networks mine the large volume of data generated and collected to provide intelligent insights to management. New-age tools have irreversibly transformed production.

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As a rapidly growing market, India has the edge and dazzle of vibrant and enthusiastic infrastructure. The larger players manufacturing fibre-optic cables have Industry 4.0 solutions integrated into their processes, governed by able and qualified people.

The ‘Make in India’ initiative is flourishing in the rise of this new technological revolution. Manufacturing in India has flipped to the digital page, and there is no going back to conventional methods.

The new entrants to the market and the dominance of organised players have given birth to defined and diversified offerings to meet the rising demands of low-voltage, medium-voltage, high-voltage, and extra-high-voltage cables.

Government fund outlays across related sectors are refining the deployment of wire and cable products in Power & Energy, IT & Telecom, Oil & Gas, Building & Construction, and other (manufacturing, automotive, and consumer electronics) sectors.

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Conclusion

Opportunities in the wire and cable industry in India are aplenty, with the burgeoning government initiatives, factory of the future, i.e., Industry 4.0 transformations, and gain in momentum amongst the key players to deliver smart, effective installations. The roadmap of the wire and cable industry is electrified with tangible potential and realistic possibilities.